Monday, 18 August 2008

Daylight Runner by Oisin McGann

Sol Wheat lives in the futuristic city of Ash Harbor. Possibly one of the last remaining human populations after a world wide ice age has made outdoor survival impossible.

To help him deal with the challenges of being a teenager, Sol has taken to running, and with the encouragement of his father, boxing. When his father disappears, Sol takes it upon himself to find him and to determine whether it has anything to do with the mysterious "accidents" that are plaguing Ash Harbor.

Sol is now forced to grow up quickly and at the same time, to decide what type of man he wants to become. He realizes that he could very easily become a violent, lawless type that his father would never have respected.

While this story occurs in a setting its readers will probably never experience, they may have to face similar moral issues. It's not always easy to decide which is the correct course of action. In Sol's case he is lucky to have a teacher he trusts, Ana Kiroa, and a friend, Cleo to help guide him, and the unlikely mentor, Maslow, to keep him alive long enough so that Sol can find his answers.

Once you get past Sol's tough guy image, you realize that he's a good person and you'll find yourself cheering for him.

I would recommend this book for every teacher's bookshelf. There is a student like Sol in each classroom needing to connect with a caring adult.

I will be passing this book along to a new friend that I met at the Endurrun. He's a runner of course, but also a boxer.

Books & Quilts

I've been blogging here since 2007 and have finally found the perfect job. I am now a book seller at Chapters, the largest book store chain in Canada. This is helping to reach an even larger number of readers with whom I enjoy sharing my love of books.